Manor Antics - Chapter 1: Jenny Blues
by DontFightTheNight
Summary: Rabbit misses Jenny, so Spine does his best to fix her, no matter what misadventures it caused the trio to go on.


The Spine was found in The Hall Of Wires, or H.O.W. for short, He was working diligently, trying to repair a certain intelligence-lacking robot. QWERTY was malfunctioning once again, which made sense from how The Spine found him not ten minutes earlier. Spine discovered the small robot buried under a pile of rubble that seemed to have fallen on him. The silver bot was sure QWERTY had pulled the stuff onto himself, but nevertheless, he would check more into it later.

The little bot laid face down on the table as Spine worked to pry its jammed backplate off so he could get at the innerworkings of the bot and repair him. This was proving to be quite the feat since Spine had to be careful not to damage him more but, at the same time, he needed the plate off. His long, metallic, fingers worked carefully, digging under the bit of metal and gently working it off. After only moments of prying and pulling, the plate came off it a loud pop. Finally, the larger Automaton got a look at his damaged circuits and wires.

"Now maybe next time you'll be more careful." Spine sighed slightly as he spoke to the air, his deep voice tossing entrancing echoes around the vast room. His eyes moved to fall on QWERTY's black screen. Every now and again a red 'ERROR' would flash in the center, then it would be back to black again.

The silver automatons's hands worked smoothly, almost gracefully, as he reattached wires and repaired circuits. Sometimes while he worked he would see the smaller bot twitch or move slightly, he found this to be slightly comical, if he had a sense of humor. Whatever QWERTY did to himself, he sure was messed up pretty badly.

Spine was still working on QWERTY when a gruff voice was heard over the WIFI. The voice was slow and deliberate, the voice of Walter himself. Spine paused his work to listen to this human,

"The Spine, Rabbit and The J-Jon need your help with something."

A stutter? Spine quirked a dark eyebrow, he had never known Walter to stutter. Rabbit.

"Nice try Rabbit..." The Spine resumed his work as if he had never been interrupted.

"I know it's you Rabbit." He repeated again, "You can't fool me that easily." Spine clicked the last piece of metal back into place. In an instant QWERTY began to slowly come back online.

"Aa href=" www..."www..."/a The voice over the WIFI had switched back to that of Spine's robot brother Rabbit,

"How did y-y-you know it was me Spine?" A small smile tugged at the corner of Spine's lips as he heard the wonder and disappointment in Rabbit's voice.

"Well Rabbit, Mr. Walter doesn't stutter, you see." Even from over the WIFI, Spine could hear Rabbit draw back into a pout.

Don't worry Rabbit, if you need my help you just need to ask." The Spine still watched as QWERTY was rebooting, making sure he was starting up correctly.

"R-really The Spine?!" The silver bot could almost hear the grin that was obviously planted on Rabbit's oxidized face,

"Sure Rabbit, just let me finish up fixing QWERTY here..."

No sound or reply came, then, from the WIFI. No doubt Rabbit had already scampered off in his excitement. Though, spine couldn't help but wonder what the two other bots needed help with. They could pretty much accomplish almost anything on their own here at Walter Manor. What where they doing? Spine shook his head, silently hoping it wasn't anything messy or something to get them all in trouble.

A small thump followed by the whir of a tiny fan came from QWERTY's small body. Slowly, he was coming back online. Spine's gazed moved again to the screen. It had changed from a black abyss to an endless white void. Small red and green lights blinked under the screen, indicating that QWERTY was loading and, so far, operating properly. In a flash, the screen switched from white to black. The Spine observed as white eyes appeared close to the middle of the screen and blinked at its surroundings, a mouth soon appeared next. Finally, QWERTY was online.

"Da Spein...?" QWERTY's voice was heavily, almost cliche-ly, robotic. Something you would see in really old flicks with robots in them.

"Yes QWERTY, I'm here."

At Spine's reply, the mouth on screen formed into a small pixely smile. QWERTY's eyes looked thoughtful, something rarely seen on the dense bot.

"Spein..."

The Silver bot stood there obediently, genuinely curious about what QWERTY was attempting to say to him. For a moment, Spine even thought that he may have finally fixed that defect in QWERTY that caused him to be so stupid.

"Yes QWERTY?" The Spine prompted,

"I..." It really seemed like QWERTY was thinking hard, even picking his words wisely. This fact alone filled Spine with a sense, only a sense seeing as a robot's feelings are artificial, of suspense and wonder.

"I like mustard." QWERTY's pixel face erupted in a gleeful grin while Spine's own expression fell to that of bleak annoyance and disappointment.

"Alright QWERTY..." Spine sighed, steam hissing from his neck, as he turned and began to exit the Hall Of Wires. All the while he could hear QWERTY zooming and screeching around behind him. Spine had had enough stupid for one day...

As the door shut, welcomed silence fell and settled itself around The Spine. He welcomed the silence, for he was only going to get to enjoy it for a few moments. After the silence was thoroughly enjoyed, Spine stepped forward. Steam hissed from his joints as gears clicked about, aiding his movement. Another step produced more steam and noise from his metal body. The sound grew softer, and soon nonexistent, as he continued walking forward.

At the end of the hall, The Spine came to an enormous spiral staircase. The robot paused and gazed down the many stairs. All were made of polished marble. They did, however, have carpet over them to protect the stone from the robot's sharp mental feet and heavy body. Steam hissed again from his knees and he dropped down onto the first step,

"Now, to find Rabbit..." He spoke once more to the open air. His deep chocolate voice seemingly swallowed up by the vast empty expanse of the Walter manor.

Being a machine, the long walk down the trillions of stairs did not phase or tire the Silver robot. He strode easily, metal clanking and hissing as he descended. In no time, he approached the ground floor.

Rabbit sat alone on he last stair, obediently waiting for his robo-brother. In his rusty gloved hands, he toyed innocently, with a small red ladybug. Steam hissed from Rabbits body and failing gears ground and clanked together. It then occurred to Spine about the horrendous level of disrepair Rabbit had fallen in to. His body has lasted him for so many years. How many more could it take? He was practically ancient. Even the malfunctions were becoming more frequent and growing worse. At this rate, Rabbit would not be able to hold out much longer before the rusty hinges gave way and the dirt clogged gears ceased to move, leaving him paralyzed and broken. Such a terrible ending to one so energetic and full of artificial life. At this revelation, Spine doubted his own ability to cope with his imitated feelings for his brother. Would he truly be able to handle the loss of one so dear to him? Even if the emotions he felt were false creations simply downloaded into his robotic brain. The blow of Rabbit's death would hit him so hard that, he too, may be forced to shut down completely. Spine never left Rabbit in the wars, he doubted his ability to leave him even in death.

As Spine drew closer, Rabbit's head turned, the gears ticking and hinges squealing. Rabbit smiled warmly and stood, forgetting the ladybug entirely, and squishing the poor things in his metal fingers.

"Spine! Spine! I've almost done it! I just need your help!" The robot was ecstatic, that fact bringing more light onto the thoughts formerly had by Spine.

"Done what?" Spine chuckled lightly, "And where is Jon?" Spine glanced around quickly,

"J-J-Jon is keeping her company!" Spine quirked an eyebrow as he eyed his brother,

"Her?" Rabbit was practically leaping around in joy,

"Jenny! I've almost fixed her!"

"Jenny? You mean the toaster?" Rabbit began to nod his head with such enthusiasm that his head was practically being jostled off of his own metal shoulders. This caused Spine to laugh. A slow silky-rich sound that bubbled from his throat and erupted in the air. Filling the expanse with low ripples of amusement.

Of course. Jenny, The Rabbit's eight minute love interest. The "love of his life". It would be this that Rabbit needed his help so desperately.

"Alright Rabbit, what do you need?" A happy smirk was still spread on Spine's cold black lips. Rabbit was still giddy with excitement.

"Well... I need a part that I can't find. I think I might have left it somewhere... it was the thingy that made her toast toast..." Rabbit began to think hard. A dangerous thing for him to do.

"Toast? You mean bread Rabbit?"

"Hm?" Rabbit looked up,

"You said the part made her toast toast. When toasters toast bread." Spine was speaking very as-a-matter-of-factly. For just a moment Rabbit seemed to be taking his words into account, before he waved them off with an easy hand gesture,

"Aw don't be silly Spine!" He called as the whimsical bot bounced off ahead of Spine. It was obviously time to get down to the search.

Spine rolled his eyes, but followed his robo brother.

"So do you have any idea where to find this part, Rabbit?" The Spine stared at the back of Rabbit's beat up hat. The Robot bounced enthusiastically in front of him,

"Not a clue! But it has to be somewhere right? ...Let's check in here!" Rabbit pointed to a room before zooming off and disappearing into the darkness. Spine followed.

"So how are we going to search the entire mansion, Rabbit? It would take us days to look everywhere..." Spine's head twisted and turned as he followed Rabbit through the cluttered room. His green eyes flashing around the room, analyzing all of the contents.

"Well... I don't know..." Rabbit seemed put off for only a moment before the thought faded from his metal skull completely.

It took them only ten minutes to search the entirety of the room. Rabbit seemed very disappointed that they hadn't found what they were looking for already. The copper robot stalked out of the room slightly unhappily. Spine furrowed his brow, and followed.

"Don't worry. I'm sure we'll find it." Spine said as he observed Rabbit disappearing into another room. Searched was going to take forever... There might be a quicker way...

Spine strode into the room, Rabbit had already dove headlong into a pile of rubble and scrap, and was rummaging desperately for the piece.

"Rabbit, where did you say Jon was?" Rabbit didn't pause in his search,

"He's w-with Jenny."

I know that, but what room?"

"Mike's room."

"Mr. Reed?"

"Uh-huh." Rabbit pulled a piece from the pile gleefully and examined it. Sure that this was the one they were looking for. As he slowly realize it wasn't, he scowled and threw the metal across the room.

"What are you doing in Mr. Reed's room?"

"We n-needed his tools..." Rabbit seemed very bored with this conversation.

"I hope you got his permission."

"Now Spine..." Rabbit pulled himself out of the pile of scrap and walked over to him, placing his arm around Spine's shoulders.

"We all know that rules are meant to be broken. Besides, M-Mike will never even notice we were there." Rabbit spoke with an air of confidence, which normally got the trio in trouble.

"Right..." Spine took a large step to the side, dislodging himself from Rabbit's arm. Rabbit stumbled slightly, being pulled off balance by Spine's sudden movement. "Well, I'm going to go work on Jenny... You keep trying to find that part okay?" Having recovered and now standing upright, Rabbit looked at Spine with an expression that had 'no shit Sherlock' written all over it. Spine rolled his eyes again and walked from the room. Turning down the hall, he began his adventure to Michael Reed's room.

The room of Michael Reed was on the floor above the one he was on now. Venturing back to the grand staircase, he began to climb again, his metal joints protesting slightly. He was in need of repairs as well.

Spine arrived shortly after he had set off. The room of Mr. Reed was normally very neat and tidy, today, however, the room was in shambles due to the other bot's need of finding tools and finding Jenny's lost part. Spine sighed again, knowing that he would had to clean all of this up before Mr. Reed got back.

Jon sat at a table with his back to the door. Jon was hunched over the table, staring intently at the half assembled toaster. He stayed like this, unblinking and perfectly still.

"Jon, what are you doing?" Spine strode into the room and crossed to stand in front of Jon.

"Rabbit told me not to take my eyes off her..." Jon spat his words quickly. As if the brief concentration on speaking would somehow disrupt his watching of Jenny and cause her significant harm.

"All right... well, I'm here to work on her Jon so... you can stop doing that. It's creepy." Jon tore his yes from Jenny and planted them on Spine. The silver robot arched a dark eyebrow as Jon's piercing gaze seemed to tear through the metal alloy that spine was made of.

"But how can I know you really are The Spine? HMMM?" Jon popped off of his chair and bounded to Spine's side in an instant.

"Don't be silly Jon. Of course it's me." Spine looked very confused, for he was, as he took a slight step back from Jon's face, that was mere inches from his own.

"Prove it." Spine took another step back. He never understood why Jon was so weird...

"What? How do I prove it?" Jon never backed down from his stare.

"Just got out of my way dummins..." Spine sidestepped Jon and made his way to the table. Jon tried feebly to detain Spine but gave up after a few peeps.

Jenny's cover was off, displaying all of her innerworkings. At this moment, Spine was glad Rabbit was on the floor above them. He would surely be fussing over every little thing Spine did to his beloved. Not to mention her without a cover would make the Robot glow cherry red. So, The Spine got to work on the second electronic device today.

Working on Jenny took him a little over an hour. Many times he had to pause so Jon could fetch a piece or scrap of metal to continue fixing her. Rabbit had managed to lose a lot of pieces that she needed to function correctly.

As far as Spine knew, Rabbit had stayed upstairs somewhere in the mansion looking for the missing components. The hyper robot hadn't interrupted Spine once and Rabbit had no idea that they were fixing his love in private. Spine felt very satisfied and proud that he was fixing Jenny for his robo-brother.

Spine had no more than finished screwing on the last bolt on Jenny's cover when Rabbit slumped through the doorway. His shoulders were slumped and his head was down. He sighed and plopped down in a chair, not noticing Spine stand and try his best to hide something behind his back. As Spine gazed at Rabbit, he noted the level of dejection and sorrow he had fallen into. It seemed the robot seemed to be melting into the chair. Spine had never seen Rabbit in such a depression, and he was glad that he wouldn't have to see his brother like this any longer.

"What's the matter Rabbit?" Spine asked, though he knew the answer. Rabbit sighed even louder and slid down in the chair, the action making an ear splitting screeching as his metal back ground against metal in the chair.

"I can't find the part... Jenny will never be fixed..." At this point Jon's eyes widened and a loud gasp was heard from the silly bot, Spine shot Jon a glance. warning him not to spoil the surprise.

"Well... you don't need the part Rabbit." Rabbit looked up, confused.

"What do you mean? Jenny needs it to be fixed."

The Spine smirked and took a long step to the side. Revealing a fixed and functioning Jenny to Rabbit.

Rabbit looked at the toaster for a moment, not understanding what had just come into play. Then, slowly, his eyes began to widen and a broad smile spread across his black lips.

"Jenny!" Rabbit leaped from the chair with such force that it broke beneath him. Rabbit paid the newly made pile of rubble no mind as he bounded over and snatched Jenny from the table. Rabbit hugged the metal toaster to his body gleefully. Spine and Jon watched the scene play out with smiles on their metal lips.

"Now you be careful with her Rabbit. She can't take as much damage as you can."

"Don't worry! I wont let anything happen to my Jenny ever again!" Spine chuckled, before looking around the room at the mess they all had made in Mr. Reed's room. Then Spine sighed slightly, steam escaping his mouth in a loud hiss.

"You should get her to your room. Then we can all clean up this mess before Mr. Reed get's back." Spine's eyes analyzed the room and all the scraps and tools that were scattered about. He hoped Mr. Reed wasn't going to be angry at them for using his things.

Rabbit nodded and bounded from the room, leaving the other two to begin the cleaning. Spine headed first to the pile of chair that Rabbit had caused. As he took a step he heard a yelp from out in the hallway. The yelp was directly followed by a loud crash and a distraught cry. Jon giggled and Spine rolled his eyes. Both knowing what had happened. Spine huffed and started out the door.

Rabbit had somehow managed to trip, sending Jenny flying into the air and plummeting to the ground. Her pieces were scattered around the hallway. As Spine looked around a little more he spied Rabbit sitting with his knees to his chest and his head down.

"Here we go again..." Spine muttered, walking over to try and console his brother. It seemed that everyone had Jenny blues that day.


End file.
